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Through one preseason game, it doesn’t seem like there’s a clear favorite to win the Las Vegas Raiders‘ starting quarterback job. Gardner Minshew and Aidan O’Connell were mostly even throughout training camp and both played well in the first preseason game against the Minnesota Vikings.
One person who thinks he’s seen enough is former Dallas Cowboys All-Pro wide receiver Dez Bryant. He took to X to express why Minshew
“I wouldn’t be surprised if Gardner minshew become the starting QB for the Raiders,” Bryant wrote in an August 10 X post. “He’s yet to get the real opportunity he deserves. He should get a fair shot to be the guy!”
Bryant has been out of the NFL since 2020 but he’s kept his fingers on the pulse of the game. Minshew has played in 49 games in his career so Bryant has likely seen him play much more than O’Connell, who has only played in 11 games.
Minshew played well against the Vikings having thrown for 117 yards and a touchdown. O’Connell was no slouch either as he completed 7-of-9 passes for 76 yards in one drive. Minshew is entering his sixth season and has only been a Week 1 starter once. That could change this season with another strong performance.
Antonio Pierce Expects to Have QB Decision Soon
The Raiders’ next preseason game is against the Cowboys on August 17. The team needs to make a firm decision about who the starting quarterback will be soon. According to head coach Antonio Pierce, the hope is to make that decision soon.
“The goal will be to hopefully make a decision after the game this Saturday,” Pierce said during his August 11 press conference. “We have to get ready to play football. We have enough film and we’ll have two games to evaluate both quarterbacks to see how they’ll play.”
Considering O’Connell and Minshew put up similar performances against the Vikings, the game against the Cowboys should hold a lot of weight. Pierce gave his evaluation of how the two quarterbacks performed vs. Minnesota.
“Aidan had nine attempts and Gardner had 12,” Pierce said. “You’d like the numbers to be equal, but they weren’t. I thought both guys were efficient. I thought there were some opportunities down the field Minshew made that were good. When it’s a clean pocket, you can see what this offense can be with both guys.”
Gardner Minshew Talks First Preseason Game
Minshew has spent much of his career fighting for a starting spot. This is familiar territory for him and he’s taken a lot of snaps in the preseason. The game against the Vikings was his first time playing a game with his Raiders teammates and he was impressed with what he saw.
“It was good, man,” Minshew said during his August 10 postgame media availability. “I felt like the whole first half, I thought we moved the ball well. It was good to get in the end zone a couple of times. Did some different things running it, play action, throwing it and dropping back. It was awesome to see guys step up and make big plays – DJ [Turner, Kob [Jakobi Meyers] was making plays. Tre [Tucker] running as fast as heck down the field. Lot of good stuff out there.”
The Raiders have playmakers on offense. They just need a quarterback to get them the ball consistently. It remains to be seen if that quarterback will be Minshew or O’Connell.
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